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Moose hunting

I'am thinking of going moose hunting with a friend of mine who is a resident of Alaska. He lives in the Wasilla area and I was wondering where would be a good location to hunt and what time of year would be best? We would be using rifles. Thanks

Welcome to the site, jinxy. You'll find that what you asked is a very loaded question. If your friend is here, hopefully he has some experience and will be able to get you started in the right direction. If not (and even if so), you'll need to do a lot of reading and then start asking some more specific questions. Given the size of Alaska, that question is kind of like asking where in the ocean you should try to catch a fish. Alaska is huge, and while there are moose in many areas of the state, different areas fit different people's needs for different reasons. Try a variety of searches here for "moose hunting", "float hunting", "drop hunt", "fly-in hunting", etc. Decide what type of hunt you'd like to do, what your budget is, and other such details. Once you have those basics down you'll likely get better responses to your questions. You might also want to consider buying a couple of books to peruse over the winter.

re:Moose Hunting

Originally Posted by jinxynoel

I'am thinking of going moose hunting with a friend of mine who is a resident of Alaska. He lives in the Wasilla area and I was wondering where would be a good location to hunt and what time of year would be best? We would be using rifles. Thanks

In regards to my recent entry I would like to clarify on my point of interest. My friend lives in Wasilla and we would be driving to our hunting location from his house so I was wondering if there is any good locations within a couple hundred miles of Wasilla. Last year was his first time hunting moose and he and some friends put on 1600 miles hunting different areas and I would rather put miles on walking than driving. This would be my first time moose hunting and know little about it. I have hunted elk in Colorado for years and anticipate this being totally different. Also, any help on where I could find some good links I could go and research myself would excellent. Thanks Brian M for the advise. Being new to this sort of thing, any advise is very helpful. Thanks again!!

Fairbanks most the time, Ancorage some of the time,& on the road Kicking Anti's all the time

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8,989

Originally Posted by jinxynoel

In regards to my recent entry I would like to clarify on my point of interest. My friend lives in Wasilla and we would be driving to our hunting location from his house so I was wondering if there is any good locations within a couple hundred miles of Wasilla. Last year was his first time hunting moose and he and some friends put on 1600 miles hunting different areas and I would rather put miles on walking than driving. This would be my first time moose hunting and know little about it. I have hunted elk in Colorado for years and anticipate this being totally different. Also, any help on where I could find some good links I could go and research myself would excellent. Thanks Brian M for the advise. Being new to this sort of thing, any advise is very helpful. Thanks again!!

well honestly i can think of about 3000 good places with in a few hundred miles of Wasilla... do you realize that Alaska is nearly a third the size of the entire lower 48 states.

if you want some good information you really need to spend some time looking at maps and pinpointing areas you feel you may get into... and what are you looking for? a trophy? or a legal moose?

there are not many areas i can go AND NOT find a moose to shoot. but i have lived in AK my entire life and lived across most of the state at some point of it. however,

much like the states...with deer and elk populations. hunting pressure, feed, and habitat play a large role in the Quality of moose you are looking for...

i know i could drive back to Wasilla tomorrow and find a ton of moose in my old hang outs. but the fact remains much of it is now private property. Willow, big lake, Sutton, talkeetna, glen hwy to Glenallen, to Valdez, to Fairbanks, back down to Wasilla, south to Seward..

Wasilla to Wasilla through one way to Fairbanks and back out the other is a 12 hour drive. and thats moving along.....and there is a TON of country moose live in along the entire drive and you will only see less then 1% of it from the road....

I would love you help a guy onto his first moose. but you need a starting point up here. and with in a few hundreed miles is to far a reach passing to many good grounds.

"If you are on a continuous search to be offended, you will always find what you are looking for; even when it isn't there."

Considerations

Originally Posted by jinxynoel

In regards to my recent entry I would like to clarify on my point of interest. My friend lives in Wasilla and we would be driving to our hunting location from his house so I was wondering if there is any good locations within a couple hundred miles of Wasilla. Last year was his first time hunting moose and he and some friends put on 1600 miles hunting different areas and I would rather put miles on walking than driving. This would be my first time moose hunting and know little about it. I have hunted elk in Colorado for years and anticipate this being totally different. Also, any help on where I could find some good links I could go and research myself would excellent. Thanks Brian M for the advise. Being new to this sort of thing, any advise is very helpful. Thanks again!!

You may also want to talk to your friend to find out what resources he has to help you access hunting areas. I have never hunted elk but when it comes to moose, I would rather not be any farther than a mile from my car when it comes time to packing one out. That said, I drove my 6x6 to the moose I shot, so packing wasn't an issue .

Hopefully your buddy will have done his homework and found his honey spot prior to your arrival. Just make sure where ever you go, you think about the pack out before you pull the trigger. Read the regs, alaska doesnt play when it comes to violations.Have fun, you'll love alaska

Thanks Vince for all your help!! My friend lives in Wasilla and has a motorhome so I guess that would be my starting point. I guess I would rather not spend my hunt driving so the closer to his house would be best. I'm not looking for a trophy my first nor my second trip, a legal bull at first would be perfect plus getting out for experience would be key. I live in WI so it's easy for me to drive 15 hours and hunt in CO but not so to AK! Being that AK is so big it's making it harder for me to locate a spot to start, that and never hunting moose before.He is also new to moose hunting and went last year for the first time and spent alot of time driving around to different locations even north of Fairbanks. I don't want upset any AK residents by sounding like I want them to tell me where to go and shoot a trophy it's my first time to your state and my first hunt so all i'm interested in are pointers. Again, I would like to thank you for your time and everyone else!! Anyone who wants to come to WI and hunt whitetails i'm your guy! What am I thinking, who would want to leave what you guys have! Dave

Fish and Game website

Here is a link to the Fish and Game website. It has a lot of good info, including hunter success rates, as well as the entire regulation booklet. One piece of advice: read the regs VERY carefully before you even head up to AK. They are very in-depth.

Another piece of advice: the farther you get from Anchorage/Wasilla, the less competition you will have from other hunters, if that influences your decision of where to go. I would honestly recommend a fly-in or float hunt if you have the $$$. To me that seems like the best bet if you don't live in AK and have time or experience to find the "honey holes." There is nothing more frustrating IMO than finding a nice area with a lot of bulls, then showing up on opening day only to realize that 50 other people found the same area, and now all the bulls have been scared off. A fly-in will get you away from that, and may give you a better experience.

Fairbanks most the time, Ancorage some of the time,& on the road Kicking Anti's all the time

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8,989

Originally Posted by c04hoosier

Another piece of advice: the farther you get from Anchorage/Wasilla, the less competition you will have from other hunters,

By Anchorage comparison that is correct... until you get with in 100 miles of Talkeetna, Chulitna, HEALY, or FERRY, Nenana, Fairbanks....on the parks hwy. with in 100 miles of eureka, Glenallen. TOK, chikaloon, Delta. on the Glenn hwy and Richerson Hwy.

oh yeah.. there is only about 50-70 miles between towns any more.. and ALL of Anchorage, Wasilla, Palmer, Big lake, Houston,willow, head north. to get away from each other..

you'll see as many people hunting in Wasilla as you will every where else ...I do...

"If you are on a continuous search to be offended, you will always find what you are looking for; even when it isn't there."

Fairbanks most the time, Ancorage some of the time,& on the road Kicking Anti's all the time

Posts

8,989

Originally Posted by need2leave

So is there nowhere to go on the road system up there that a guy can get away from the crowds?

depends on the moment.... and the day of the week. my claim/ camp is 26 miles off the road and averages 70+ visitors during moose season...

our road system is limited as is access, off of it. Alaska is not tracks of land as is the states... and the terrain and regional ground type has a lot to do with accessibility.. simply put.. that nice green field the moose is standing in. will sink you up to your ears(if your lucky you will stop,) road system hunting requires Patience and the understanding YOU will meet other hunters. At my place, i welcome all visitors.. if they cop an attitude about others being there... well.... thats another story. just stay friendly and hope full...

"If you are on a continuous search to be offended, you will always find what you are looking for; even when it isn't there."

I'm the friend from Wasilla that Jinxy will be hunting with. This last moose season was my first time moose hunting and for the guys I went with, it was their first time hunting from the road system. They usually fly in. We went mostly for the experience, since I know how limited the road system is and how heavily it can be hunted. We put a lot of miles on the RV checking out different areas of the state. We first went up to the White Mountains area around Wickersham Dome. We hiked back into the Globe creek area. It looked like good moose habitat, but there was no fresh sign. It was about 60-65 deg that day and we were told the moose were still in the high ground. We then tried around Delta Junction and again didn't see much for fresh sign. The area that seemed like it had the most potential was up the Taylor Hwy in a registration hunt area. There is a pretty good chunk of that road that is a burn area. Does anyone know how long it takes moose to move back into this type of habitat? Any how, in the areas that weren't burned, there was at least sign of moose activity. This was all early in the season and most people we talked to seem to say the moose were still up higher in the mountains. What is a good temp for moose to be moving around down in the bottoms? The last area we tried was down Nabensa Road in Wrangell St-Elias. This was by far the most beautiful area to hunt and there were suprisingly few hunters. It seemed like perfect habitat and we had good visibility from high ground. All of these were areas that my non-res friends could hunt in and were friendlier to people who were on foot. I don't have a 4-wheeler yet, but hopefully I'll have at least one by next summer. This may open up some more possiblities and at least make it easier to pack the meat out. I have my private pilot certificate, but no airplane yet since we just built a house. Once I have that, it will be an entirely different story...I will finally be able to get off the road system I know this is a pretty long entry, but if anyone has any answers to some of my questions, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Thoughts

Welcome to the challenges we are all facing. If you hunt the road system with everyone else, you will have a lower chance of success and as the native corporations finalize their holdings, access from the road system will become more and more difficult as well. Just make sure you check the regs for the seasons for your friend if he's hunting as a non-resident as well as who owns the land. Good luck trying to escape the crowds.

An idea that might help-

Jinksy,

As you can see, there's a LOT to planning a hunt in Alaska. Unlike other places where you just jump in the pickup with the dog and gun for a morning shoot, up here it's usually an expedition. Especially for those of us on the road system.

Because questions like this come up so frequently, I'm going to open a new thread on hunt planning. There are some basic principles that will come out in that thread, and I encourage you to check it out.